Pillar of Yita

Elisa brought back the swordsman who had previously been with the Uncrowned Crown. He had fallen at the very start of that combat, likely resurrected in the Holy Sanctuary nearby, and had rushed back with his teammates. Along with him were others: a tall Half-Person Nightingale, an Iron Guard, a Ranger, and a Bald Martial Monk, all of whom were Invokers.

On the road, they encountered Elisa returning from the snowstorm. As an excellent Nightingale, she spotted them first and recognized the swordsman at a glance. She greeted them proactively, and upon learning that the Uncrowned Crown was still in the area, they returned to the platform with Elisa.

The group boarded the airship on Mr. Greyrock’s back, appearing somewhat reserved as they looked at the thick carpet in the cabin, then at their boots covered in snow and mud, hesitating on whether to enter.

They probably had never seen such a large Beast of Burden platform, or the luxurious interior furnishings (at least to their eyes). An Adventure Group with such a platform likely had significant backing, and the Grand Guilds generally did not treat fringe individuals like them kindly.

”It’s alright, come on in,” Elisa waved them over. ”The carpet is made of Floating Dragon fur, with a built-in cleaning function.”

This fur was a gift to the ’Fenris Heroes’ by Sir Roban via Princess Briana. Fang Hong wished he could nail a copper nameplate to the floor explaining this, but it would be too embarrassing to actually do so.

So, the five of them tiptoed inside. The swordsman, of course, blended in, while among them the Martial Monk was quite tall and had to bow his head. The Iron Guard was, unusually, a girl about the same age as Sophie, and only the Ranger seemed relatively calm—though being uncalm wouldn’t suit the Ranger profession anyway.

The tall Half-Person blinked, recognizing this Princess of the Silver Weslan, Sophie. The others were momentarily stunned, then realized they must be people from Silver Weslan.

The tall Martial Monk turned out to be a fan of Sophie’s, nervously holding out a notebook hoping for the Princess of Silver Weslan to sign it. Sophie appeared quite generous, taking the book and cheerfully writing a blessing before signing her name.

Fang Hong, observing her practiced demeanor, curiously asked from the side, ”You do this often?”

Sophie brushed her hair, nodding as she wrote, ”All the guilds have star-making plans, you get used to it.” She turned back with a smile, asking, ”Want me to sign one for you too?”

”...Will it be worth anything in the future?” Fang Hong couldn’t help but snort before finishing his sentence.

It turned out Elisa had stepped on his foot when no one was looking.

She couldn’t help but touch her forehead, feeling her captain was embarrassing them, especially with outsiders present.

But Sophie seemed quite amused, enjoying seeing him embarrassed—

The others noticed their intimate interaction and speculated uncertainly about Fang Hong’s identity, wondering who he was to be so close with the Little Princess of Silver Weslan. Was he a member of the Silver Weslan brigade?

Despite the embarrassment, Fang Hong quickly inquired about their intentions.

The charcoal burned slowly and the hearth flame dimmed somewhat.

The room quieted down, but shortly after, more people arrived. Luo Yu, Tianlan, and Parker came over hearing that guests had arrived. The Big Catfolk was the last to arrive, leisurely wandering into the room and shutting the door behind him, sitting down on the sofa.

Only Xiangzi stuck to a strict schedule of sleeping at nine, unperturbed even if the sky fell, and Gita, being shy, stayed in her room with Tianlan.

Upon seeing the Lion Paladin, the guests were even more surprised. The Wilderness People of Rotao were rarely seen in Colin Ishurian.

Fang Hong listened intently to their responses before mulling over and asking, ”So, you’re members of the Southern Region Alliance?”

The swordsman nodded, having seen the state of the Uncrowned Crown and learning they were unharmed, he felt relieved. After getting acquainted with Fang Hong and his party, they became less restrained, relaxing a bit.

However, upon hearing Fang Hong’s question, they exchanged glances and fell silent.

”What’s wrong?”

”...Actually, we knew this day would come,” the Iron Guard lady clenched her fist, her voice a bit hoarse, ”Since the beginning of the year, the Kingdom has been pressuring us. Chairman Resonance tried many methods, but nothing worked. Chairman Ye has been in the Second World and hasn’t returned...”

The group all belonged to a little-known small guild, but according to them, all small and large guilds in the Southern Region were sheltered by the Alliance, and their guild was no exception.

Tianlan was surprised by their response and couldn’t help but ask, ”Why? Why would the Kingdom pressure you, wasn’t it the Super Competitive League taking action?”

The swordsman gently shook his head, ”Not really.”

”It’s because of the Alchemist Alliance.” Finally, Fang Hong spoke.

The Southern Region Alliance was not purely an Invoker organization. Its origins trace back almost to the era of the Battle of Bain—

In the aftermath of that great battle, facing the devastated land, the Invokers and Natives of the Southern Region collaborated deeply to rebuild their homeland and counter potential cultist threats, thus laying the foundation for this alliance.